The following is an adaptation of a staff presentation given at Daystar’s annual Fall Event, highlighting the inspiration to be found in our rich Christian Science history through exploring specific items in Daystar’s collection. An RSVP link for the upcoming Fall Event, to be held October 16-17, 2026, can be found at the end of this post.
Among the rarer items on the shelves in Daystar’s library is a small collection of thin volumes containing biographies of Christian Science teachers, privately published by their Associations of Pupils. One of these books honors the life and work of an Oklahoman, William Reid Johnson, CSB.
Born in 1893 in the town of Cleburne, an agricultural community located between Fort Worth and Waco, Texas, William, or Reid as he was known, was one of three children in the household of William and Della Johnson. In 1901, the family moved to the town of Pauls Valley in the newly established state of Oklahoma. They then moved to Oklahoma City in 1907, where the family was first exposed to Christian Science. Finally settling in Tulsa in 1912, Reid Johnson would live and work there for the rest of his life.
In 1915, he married Mary Hazel, affectionately known to everyone as “Daisy,” with whom he had three children: Betty Lee, Jimmy, and Margie Jean.
In 1921, he entered the photo engraving business with a company in Tulsa and eventually rose to an executive position. He would remain with the company until he later went into the full-time professional practice of Christian Science healing.
In 1929, he became a member of The Mother Church and of Second Church of Christ, Scientist, in Tulsa, where he went on to serve as a board member, Sunday School superintendent, and First Reader.
About this time, in the late 1920s, Mr. and Mrs. Johnson were looking for a teacher of Christian Science with whom to take Primary class instruction.
Based on his own recollections in his biography and further research into local papers, it is fair to assume that on November 5, 1929, the Johnsons heard a lecture at Tulsa Convention Hall, now known as the Brady Theater, given by Bliss Knapp, a Christian Science practitioner, teacher, and lecturer from Boston. The biography indicates that, as Mr. and Mrs. Johnson liked to tell the story, the couple apparently simultaneously turned to each other after the lecture was over and said, “He’s the one!”
Just two days later (Mr. Johnson recalls it as the very next night), they drove 50 miles to Muskogee, Oklahoma, to hear Mr. Knapp deliver the very same lecture.
In 2009, a local Daystar member donated several large, hand-lettered lecture posters she had obtained from the basement of the Masonic Lodge in Muskogee – essentially saving them from musty oblivion. One of these posters was created to promote the lecture attended by the Johnsons almost 97 years ago!
Interestingly, none of these posters (nor ads in newspapers of the day, either) mention the title of his lecture. Of course, since it was such an impactful one for the Johnsons, historical curiosity prompted further research to try to figure out which lecture had been presented on that November night in Muskogee.
Reports in newspapers on microfilm at the Oklahoma Historical Society from other cities in October and November of 1929 indicate that Mr. Knapp was regularly presenting his lecture titled “Christian Science: A Reason for Christian Healing” during this period.
Feeling invigorated and divinely led in their objective to take Primary class with Mr. Knapp, the Johnsons were accepted for his 1931 class, which was held in the Boston area in the summer of that year.
About a year and a half earlier, in a letter he wrote to Mr. Knapp requesting an application to take the class, Mr. Johnson indicated that it was not a physical healing that brought him into Christian Science. He explained,
“I was brought to it by the realization that it contained the answer to all the perplexities of the why and how of being. Since conforming my living to its standard, I have been healed of many things and have found that it is ‘the pearl of great price.’” 2
Several years after class, the Johnsons went into the full-time professional practice of Christian Science healing work. They both took an office at the Atlas Life building in downtown Tulsa, as their listing in The Christian Science Journal shows here.
In a letter to his teacher dated October 1, 1935, Mr. Johnson wrote,
“Long ago I knew that healing the sick and helping the sinner were nearest my heart’s desire and that if God’s plans for me included that, it would work out normally….I know that the office of practitioner requires more than a nice desk and a couple of Daniel pictures on the wall; but, armed as I am, I shall not fail.” 3
Healings for which Mr. Johnson was on the case included a violently ill infant, broken bones, the homelessness of a widow and her six children, unemployment, grief, heart attack, skin maladies, accidents, and coma. Some of these healings are recounted in detail in the book.
In 1940, Mr. Johnson was appointed Committee on Publication for the State of Oklahoma, a position whose duty is to “correct in a Christian manner impositions on the public in regard to Christian Science, injustices done Mrs. Eddy or members of this Church by the daily press, by periodicals or circulated literature of any sort.” 4
In a letter sent to him as he began his tenure in this important position, his teacher, Bliss Knapp, gave him some sage advice regarding the work:
“Merely to silence the opposition is to make an enemy, but to heal the condition silences the error and makes a friend.” 5
In 1946, Mr. Johnson went through a course – known as Normal class – to become an authorized teacher of Christian Science, taught by Mary G. Ewing. Mr. Knapp, upon receiving the news his student had been accepted for the Normal class, again gave Mr. Johnson concise counsel that communicated the gravity of what he was undertaking in his new role as a teacher of Christian Science. His wise words to the new teacher were “Pray to learn how to remain here and be of service. Unity of Good 57:3 will help you.” 6
Mr. Johnson continued to hold classes in Tulsa for almost 30 years after becoming a Christian Science teacher. He taught his last class in 1974. He continued to address meetings of the Association of his pupils until his passing in January of 1985.
The book includes many anecdotes from his students that help readers get to know the individuality of this extraordinary worker.
According to a student, Mr. Johnson could be described as “low key,” 7 a trait that undoubtedly made him approachable, patient, and unruffled, all wonderful qualities for a Christian Science teacher and practitioner.
The same student said, “…with the exception of being so involved in Christian Science, [Mr. Johnson] would have been quite happy living on an acreage outside Tulsa, with a few cows, etc. He loved to listen to baseball games….” 8
An association-mate said, “…he was one of the purest minded men I have had the privilege to know,” 9 and he “…had a wonderful sense of humor.” 10
This humble and caring servant to the Cause of Christian Science was known for his spiritual healing, metaphysical wisdom, and above all, his character. Here is one of many examples from the book which illustrates this well: Mr. Johnson was on the case of an elderly woman, a lifelong student of Christian Science and herself a practitioner, who had broken her hip. The injury was so severe that it would seem that she might not ever be able to walk again. She had limited funds and a friend of hers told Mr. Johnson she would likely be unable to pay for Christian Science treatment. He recalled,
“I replied I would not hesitate on that account. That I did not look to her or any other person for pay, as I worked for God and He would reward me. I took her case….In a few weeks the lady was well.
“She expressed much gratitude for her healing and asked for my bill. I made it out for the full amount. In a few days I received $10 in such a form and manner that I realized she had saved this money through much self-denial and had paid me most of all she had. I sent her a receipted bill marked ‘Paid In Full,’ for I knew I could lose nothing by doing good unto one of his ‘little ones’ who had cast in her mite.
“Now here is how I was paid. In a few days she wrote a final letter of thanks that contained a statement of spiritual truth which so illuminated my consciousness that it healed me of a problem on which I had been working for months. The money would not have healed me. ‘How much better it is to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather…than silver!’ (Prov. 16:16).” 11
The lovingly compiled biography, titled simply William Reid Johnson, C.S.B., was published in 1999 by the Christian Science Association of the Pupils of William Reid Johnson. It is full of much more wisdom, metaphysical insight, and practical guidance towards spiritual understanding, which was made manifest in the life and work of this loyal worker and make it well worth reading on your next visit to the Daystar library.
"*" indicates required fields
